Why this could be the last waltz for rightwingers

People are tired of their favourite TV shows being used for reputation repair, says Sarah Manavis

- Sarah Manavis

In the past five years, British audiences have begun to brace themselves at the announcement of reality TV casts. Scanning a grid of faces, the dreaded thought appears: which rightwing figure has joined my most loved TV show to rehabilitate their public image?

Political figures have long used reality shows to transition from politician to personality - Ed Balls and Ann Widdecombe did Strictly Come Dancing; Stanley Johnson did I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here; George Galloway did Big Brother - to lesser and greater degrees of success. But recently, rather than a vehicle for shifting careers, reality TV has become a vehicle for reputational recovery, used by controversial and disgraced conservative figures hoping to wash away a bad impression by making lovable fools of themselves to audiences of millions.